I Am a Jew

Israel's president reflects on the meaning behind journalist Daniel Pearl's last words.

The values of Judaism are universal and humane values and certainly in all sectors and parts of the nation--Sephardic, Ashkenazi, ultra-Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Israelis, and Diaspora Jews are all linked and joined to each other and to these values.

Judaism, therefore, is focused on social justice and concern for the weak. Judaism is faith, a world outlook, universal values, laws governing man?s conduct toward his fellow man and his conduct toward God. Judaism is linked to life.

To be a Jew means to belong to a nation whose people are linked to each other spiritually and emotionally, to belong to a group that shares a common magnificent past, one tradition, and a common destiny and fate. The Jewish people are the sons of one father. They are one big family.

In conclusion, I wish to quote Professor Erwin Radkowski, the Chief Scientist of the American Atomic Energy Commission in the sixties, which built the first nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus. When asked how he recommends improving one?s thinking ability, his reply was: "Study a page of the Gemara (commentary on the Jewish Oral Law) every day."